The LMU “Internet Monitoring” subproject within MOTRA (Radicalization Monitoring System and Transfer Platform) observes and researches radical online communication.

The Germany-wide top-level Radicalization Monitoring System and Transfer Platform (MOTRA) research cluster is entering its second funding phase – and LMU is on board again. The Internet Monitoring subproject, established at the Department of Media and Communication (IfKW) under the leadership of Professor Diana Rieger, Simon Greipl, Heidi Schulze, and Julian Hohner, will receive further funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI), and the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth (BMFSFJ). The new round of funding for the Munich subproject amounts to some 1 million euros and will run until the middle of 2028. Overall, the research consortium has been awarded over 8 million euros (the first 5-year funding phase to establish MOTRA had previously received some 14 million euros from the BMBF and the BMI).

The goal of the project is to expand existing continuous monitoring of radical and extremist online communication on platforms like Telegram and TikTok. This involves systematically analyzing both text-based and visual forms of extremist content. One of the main focuses is on the development and partially automated classification of so-called radicalization indicators such as hate speech, fear speech, and calls to violence online. This method allows discourses, memes, and videos to be analyzed for radicalization potential.

“The digital communication of extremist actors is dynamic, has a strong visual character, and operates across platforms. Our research furnishes important insights into what role digital spaces can occupy in the radicalization process while also serving as an early indicator for discursive, radical, and extreme activities that are manifesting in the German-speaking world,” explains Diana Rieger.

As well as analyzing digital communication, the subproject also aims to integrate various data sources from MOTRA partner institutions, such as population surveys and the role of media usage, statistics on politically motivated crime as recorded by the police, and protest dynamics in Germany. This enables the Internet Monitoring team to carry out comprehensive and cross-phenomenal observation of radicalization activities in Germany from different perspectives.